The development of a new spectrometic system capable of simultaneous multielement trace analysis of biological materials is being undertaken, with the ultimate goal of providing rapid, routine, and automated methods for medical diagnosis. The new spectrometer, known as the vidicon flame spectrometer, utilizes a vidicon television tube as a detector in place of the conventional photomultiplier. In addition to the vidicon tube and monochromator, the VFS consists of a flame excitation source, external optics, an optical multichannel analyzer, and an oscilloscope readout. A superior method for the determination of the serum electrolytes Na, K, and Ca has been developed and evaluted. A method will be developed for the multielement determination of Na, K, Ca, Mg, and Li in urine. Methods will also be developed for the determination of additional trace elements in serum and tissue. Other excitation sources will be investigated for use with the VFS to increase sensitivity. The interfacing of the vidicon spectrometer to a minicomputer will be completed for eventual automation of the currently developed manual methods.